Kern County Obituaries
William Glen Sweitzer
Submitted by Don Stowell; 13 Feb 2008
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Source Unknown; 26 Mar 1953
Pilot Killed in Plane Crash Near Gorman
Paratroopers from March Field and members of the Civil Air Patrol aided in the
dramatic search for a lost monoplane over the weekend.
The search ended at 4 p.m. Sunday when Deputy Coroner Ross Jones and a
sheriff's party reached the scene of the crash on the south side of Double Mountain,
midway between Rosamond and Lebec. The battered body of the pilot, William
Glen Sweitzer, 36, of Phoenix, Ariz., was found in the wreckage of the plane.
It was the first air crash fatality in Kern County for 1953.
Planned Bakersfield Stop
Sweitzer left San Bernardino at 11 a.m. Saturday, filing a flight plan for San Arda,
with a stop for gasoline at Bakersfield. His last radio message was received as he
passed, Palmdale and flew into an area of high winds.
Investigators believe the light plane was caught in a down-draft and crashed at the
6,000-foot level. The Civil Air Patrol was called to help the search at 7 a.m.
Sunday. Seven of its aircraft began a systematic combing of the rugged area
northwest of Palmdale.
At 9:40 a.m. W. O. Arthur Weis of Bakersfield Squadron 113 reported sighting
the wreckage and flying low enough to make positive identification from the letters
and numbers on the wings. With the volunteer pilot were two observers, Henry
Washburn and Russell Ford, both privates from Shafter Squadron 111.
March Field authorities arranged for a drop of three paratroopers on the 6,000-
foot crest. They reported Sweitzer's death and awaited the arrival of th~ ground
party led by Sheriff's Sergeant Harold B. Miller of Mojave Substation. With the
latter group were Jones of the Coroner's office and Deputy Sheriff Edward Miner
and Joe Johnson, the latter from the identification bureau.
The ground party was able to drive to within a mile of the crash. "From there it was
straight up," reported Jones.
The body was brought to the O'Donnell Funeral Home in Mojave, pending funeral
arrangements. Sweitzer's wife was advised of the tragedy during the afternoon.
The body was flown to Phoenix, Ariz., for burial.